When a new company is formed the registered office address is specified as part of the incorporation on form IN01. For many companies, that address will remain the registered office address for the entire life of the company. Other companies will choose to move the registered office of the company to another address.
You can change the registered office address of the company at any time, although it must remain in the same part of the UK in which the company was incorporated – so, for example, a company registered in England & Wales cannot have a registered office address in Edinburgh or Belfast. There are some other restrictions on the address a company can use as its registered office address.
Companies House must be informed of any change in the company’s registered office address via form AD01. Here’s the steps you should follow to update the registered office address:
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1 Check any restrictions in the company’s articles
It’s always a good idea to review the company’s articles of association before making any important changes. While it’s unlikely, a few companies may have provisions in their articles which restrict their ability to change the registered office address – either a restriction on the address that can be used for this purpose or a special process that must be followed to make the change.
2 Convene a directors’ meeting
A change in registered office address should be approved by a directors’ meeting. A change can be made by passing a resolution: we’ve put together a template resolution to change the registered office address which you can adapt and use.
3 File form AD01 with Companies House
Companies House must be informed promptly of the change to the registered office address. To do this, you should submit form AD01 (for limited companies or form LLAD01 (for LLPs). The AD01 form requires the following information:
- The company name
- The company number
- The new full registered office address
It’s really quick and easy to update your company’s registered office address and submit the AD01 form online. From your Inform Direct account, just click on ‘Edit Company Information’ from the Company tab. You’ll then be able to update the address, either by selecting an existing address or entering a new one. It’s then just a click of a button to submit the change electronically to Companies House.
If you’ve not already registered for Inform Direct and you’d like to use it to update your registered office address, you can sign up for free.
4 Companies House register the change of registered office address
Companies House will check the new address on the Royal Mail database.
Assuming there are no issues, they will register the change in registered office. The change only takes effect on the date that the notice is registered by Companies House, so you should wait until it’s approved before updating stationery or notifying anyone.
The registered office address will typically be updated on the public register within 24 hours of having been accepted by Companies House.
5 Update company documents
Once the change is accepted by Companies House, updates to the company’s stationery and other documents can be made. That could include amending:
- Printed letterheads
- Invoices and order forms
- Other printed stationery
- Brochures and other printed marketing material
- Email footers
- Website(s)
You should also move all statutory documents – like the company registers and directors’ service contracts – to the new registered office address, unless they are held at a SAIL address.
As the company name must usually be displayed at the registered office, a suitable means of presentation should be made at the new address.
6 Notify interested parties of the change
There are many different people who you should inform of any change to the company’s registered office address, including:
- Bankers
- Auditors
- Solicitors, accountants and other professionals
- HMRC – with respect to PAYE, VAT, share schemes and corporation tax
- Shareholders
- Customers and suppliers – you might only inform particularly important customers or suppliers where there’s no change to the main address from which the company undertakes its business
By virtue of section 86(2) of the Companies Act 2006, any person can still serve a document on the company at its previous registered office address for 14 days after the address is updated by Companies House. This means that the company will either need access to the old address or have put in place a reliable means for mail to be forwarded during that period.
All companies are required to maintain up to date company records. Inform Direct is the perfect tool to help you easily keep everything up to date.
Whilst it may be good practice to convene a directors’ meeting to approve a change in a company’s registered address, I cannot find any legal requirement to do so. Is my understanding correct?
A resolution to change the registered office address can be passed as a written resolution or via a directors’ meeting. The articles of association should always be checked first for any special requirements in this area.
Please note that a new requirement for an ‘appropriate registered office address’ has been introduced by the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (2023). Any documents sent to the registered office should be expected to come to the attention of a person acting on behalf of the company and can be recorded by an acknowledgement of delivery. PO boxes are now prohibited for registered addresses.